A LABOUR chief has launched an impassioned defence of his council's record amid cutbacks said to hit the old, the young, the poor and the disabled.

Last week, Durham County Council announced proposals to save around £1.5m by cutting home to school transport and the Care Connect community alarm scheme.

Opposition councillors condemned the plans as disgusting and appalling, especially as the council has reserves of around £208m.

However, deputy leader Alan Napier today (Wednesday, September 16) defended the council’s record, in the face of government-imposed cuts topping £250m in the decade to 2020.

He said the council would have made £153m of savings by March but still had the most generous council tax support scheme in the country, was protecting people from the bedroom tax, providing welfare assistance and welfare rights support, keeping compulsory redundancies to a minimum, paying the Durham Living Wage, had kept all its libraries open and was investing £2m a year to fund prudential borrowing in order to meet its top priority of regenerating the county.

Addressing a cabinet meeting at County Hall, Durham, Cllr Napier added the authority had drawn £59m from its reserves since 2011, would use £9m in 2015-16 and would spend more in future years.

Knowing around 2,000 council jobs have been lost, he said Labour would do its “very best” to protect frontline services, but all services would have to be reviewed.

On home to school transport, the cabinet agreed a six-week consultation will begin on Wednesday, September 30 on reducing the service to the legal minimum: ending the automatic right to free transport for children who move house during their GCSEs and post-16 students living in areas without viable public transport or unable to travel independently due to a medical condition or disability.

The changes would not affect those receiving free transport due to low family income and a new £150,000 hardship fund would be set up.

Final decisions will be taken next spring and any changes would come into force for new courses only next September.

On Care Connect, cabinet agreed consultation will begin on introducing a £145 annual charge for pensioners and disabled people who currently get the service free and increasing the weekly charge for those already paying from £4.60 to £4.80.

Final decision will be taken in January, with any changes implemented in April.